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143. The Other Faction

Penulis: Erika Lana Bell
last update Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-07-23 20:43:11

Cali’s POV.

I’ve never seen Hale freeze like that.

Not even when he got shot in the shoulder and kept pushing forward with blood pouring down his side. Not when Vaughn told us that Burke had connections inside the EU judiciary. Not even when I showed up in Italy, uninvited, defiant, and full of secrets.

But now?

He’s still. Frozen. Staring at that wall like it just broke something loose in him that he wasn’t ready to name.

The symbol painted there is simple. Crude. Almost lazy—just a black square with a jagged red line slashed diagonally through it, like a wound. But the way Hale’s looking at it? I know it means something more. Something bad.

“Hale?” I whisper.

His voice is low. Flat. “This isn’t Burke.”

“You said that already. What does that mean?”

He finally turns toward me. There’s something strange in his eyes—not panic, but something very close. Not fear. Strategy. Calculations racing ahead of words.

“Burke doesn’t mark his shipments. He doesn’t brand what he hides. That’s not hi
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